The first treasure California began to surrender after the Gold Rush as the oldest: her land.

Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.

We are all dying of life.

Spend as much time as you can with your mouth shut and your eyes and ears open.

Be persistent. Editors change; tastes change; editorial markets change. Too many beginning writers give up too easily.

Guilty she might be. But what human being was not? There were things in her past she needn't be ashamed of, things to be proud of; she wouldn't surrender so meekly to a condemning judgment.

No writer should minimize the factor that affects everyone, but is beyond control: luck.

Losing innocence. Remembering Heaven. That was the essence of Hell

The best that could be left behind by any man: children who had been brought up to behave responsibly and to believe in something beyond their own self gratification. (The Americans

Human beings may be inconsistent, but human nature is true to itself

He could never be anything more than what he was: the inheritor of weakness and unbridled emotion, a creature possessed by the past, and carrying its curse forever into the future--

It was frustrating and exhausting to gather bits of disconnected information without understanding how it all fitted together.

The disruption of science is one which abandons the method and seeks to conquer grounds outside its territory. It is not at all religion but this pseudo-science that is the enemy of science.

Selfishness keeps man blind through life.

If you don't like being attacked for your point of view, you shouldn't be in politics in the first place.

No matter how old we get, life's always got a lesson for you. Most likely one you've learned ten times before.

I'm not an alcoholic, I only drink two times a year. When it's my birthday, and when it's not my birthday.

You play, you win, you play, you lose. You play. It’s the playing that’s irresistible. Dicing from one year to the next with the things you love, what you risk reveals what you value.

If you're short on time, that would be the two-word version of our story: we fell.

Try to take your vision and ego as far away from the song as possible. Give as much respect as you can to the song and the initial inspiration.

Experience is the best of school masters, only the school fees are heavy.